(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the use of a composition as a drug for rapidly combating the tissue degeneration; in particular, the drug is particularly useful in cases of degenerative diseases caused by particular conditions of stress, such as, for example, the exposure to ionizing radiations (gamma rays and X-rays), exposure to UV, or cellular damage caused by toxic molecules, etc.
(2) Description of the Related Art
It is known that radiations in general, as well as other endogenous and exogenous factors, produce damages at the cellular level forming free radicals, highly reactive molecules which produce chemical oxidations of lipids and proteins, resulting in oxidative stress. The general effects thus produced in the organism are mainly the following: a weakening of the immune system; a stepped-up physiological organic deterioration; the production of degenerative forms.
A particularly significant example relates to the cancer induction by the radiations, mainly the ionizing radiations (X and .gamma. rays for the electromagnetic radiation, .alpha. e .beta. rays for the material particles), as was indeed highlighted by the researchers who first worked with radio-emitting materials and as has been documented by a huge amount of scientific works of the last seventy years.
A dramatic and particular example of this causal relationship between radiation exposure and increased incidence of cancer is related to the effects of radiation on healthy cells. It is known that the radiation is intended to stop the growth of a tumor, but since it is not possible to discriminate with absolute precision, in the treatment plan, the cells to be treated from the nearby healthy ones, it is necessary that the absorbed dose the system does not exceed a given value (usually indicated in 2 Gy, corresponding to 200 Rad) to prevent the irradiation of healthy tissue causes a rapid new carcinogenesis. In oncologic radiation it is known the possibility that a new cancer can develop in tissues that were directly exposed to the treatment (radiogenic pathogenesis), but it is also possible that an indirect process causes a second tumor in a different place of occurrence. It is therefore important and essential to prevent and reduce the effects of the exposure to healthy tissue during radiation therapy.
Among the effects of exposure to radiation or, in general, to oxidative stress, are to be considered the bio-physical and chemical changes that can result in damage to cell membranes and to the DNA. In fact, in the presence of an oxidizing stress, the NA+—K+ pumps do not perform its task correctly and there occurs an imbalance of the four fundamental cations for a well-balanced cellular functioning, namely Sodium, Potassium,
Calcium and Magnesium. Especially in presence of degenerative diseases and in particular neoplastic forms, Sodium NA+ (a prevalent cation in extracellular fluids) tends to substitute Potassium K+ inside the cell, with a resulting serious cytoplasmic imbalance, which can conduct to a significant alteration of the intra and extra cellular acid-base conditions, to a modification of the enzyme and protein function by alteration of the binding sites for the electrolyte and a significant change of their shape. In addition, a significant decrease in the cytoplasmic concentration of Potassium can cause instability in the double helix structure of DNA and, especially, in the action of the telomerase enzyme, because the Potassium is strongly implicated in the correct structure of the G-Quadruplex (sequence of Guanine-rich nucleic acids and stabilized by K+cation), thus prompting mutagenic phenomena. It must also be taken into particular consideration the existence of a Sodium-Glucose symport (known in the literature since the 60s of last century) and recently further confirmed by MRI based on sodium (Na.sup.23) and performed on cancer “in vivo” compared with PET on the same tumors, completely overlapping.